“She’s in New York,” Lilly then answered safely, her tone slow and edgy.
“And…?” Sophia looked more fascinated, such an eager beaver. Lilly was thrown into a bigger quandary.
To act dumb was now the best option for Lilly. She had to dismiss this early, before additional questions could widen into oceans.
“Well, time for bed now, Sophia. Good night,” she concluded fast, and hurried to her own other room.
Left hanging, Sophia couldn’t pull through, her thoughts branching immensely in her head. Something was peculiar with the name Francheska, like a déjà vu, and it disturbed her the whole night.
CHAPTER 5
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the hymn of the kravenas and
the symphony of abanir
The eventide came and it was time for the Kravena Tribe to celebrate Thanksgiving. Abundant food and jars of rice wine were served at the festivity. In the face of it, Datu Ilak ordered his army to be vigilant. The enemies might, once again, attack at any moment.
All over the terrain were the high spirits of singing and dancing, but Abanir was mute and listless. His pining for the human never withered but flourished abundantly with each day that passed.
In his cavernous thoughts, a female came within his reach and greeted him. “Your Highness,” she said and bowed down, in all her finery.
Recognizing the voice, Abanir put his response on hold. He knew it was Tiyana, the daughter of the datu’s top adviser, and this swirled him on hot water. He’d been hearing the whispers in the high court about a possible tie between him and her. Tiyana was the jewel in her father’s crown, and this meant she had a hitch to the throne.
Abanir endeavored to get away, for a big breath of air. This was not what he’d been wishing for. It had always been Sophia, only her!
“Lately, your face is gloomy, My Raha. I fear for your wellness.” As these words escaped Tiyana’s pale lips, Abanir was already giving Rabel signs to take her away and dance with her, which was granted without too much delay. Abanir was out of sorts and could not deal with any small talk. His mind and heart were too. Dim. Neither the moonshine nor the twinkling stars succeeded in igniting these.
Moaning, he left the merriment and stayed up, in the gust of air, thinking of his beloved, Sophia. Up in the distance, he could hear his fellow Kravenas chanting the tribe’s hymn.
O’er the plains and dusky forest;
Behold the grandeur of our mighty wings;
O’er the rush of river flowing;
Behold the paramount of our firm well-being;
White and pure are our mighty wings;
So are our hearts that gleefully sing;
United, we surmount unwavering;
With our stronghold, we’ll be soaring.
For hours, Abanir steadfastly listened to the exults from the land. In the emergence of the sun, he lingered, suspended through the gentle wind. Fondly, he intoned his sentiments out, as well,
With endless hopes, I gaze at the mountains;
Through the clouds, I am uncertain;
Higher I soar, nothing but green;
Afar, thy shadows I see;
Rested my eyes, aroused by the truth;
You’re a world apart, I cry;
Howls of pining, I pray they cease.
“You’ll be back. I feel it,” Abanir mumbled to himself, referring to Sophia, and finally, he went back to their territory.
At home, Abanir avoided the distractions. He had no heart to listen to the highlights of the last night’s fête. His heart was somewhere else.
“My son, where have you been?” Datu Ilak queried upon seeing Abanir. “You have missed the blissful parts of the festivity!”
“Father, I heard them. You were jubilant.” Abanir bowed down before his father.
“Where have you been all night?” The melancholy in his son’s bearing never skipped Datu Ilak’s eyes. “Have you been thinking of the human lately?” he asked, looking through every corner of Abanir’s eyes.
Abanir, although he was doubtful in confessing it, nodded. He knew he had to show vitality and all, but there were no more left of the remaining drive he had whenever he set off, these past days, during Sophia’s absence.
This made Datu Ilak’s worry intensify.
“Shall I be honest with you, My son?” Datu Ilak temporarily set aside his supremacy and focused on his fatherly role, instead. Then he put both hands over Abanir’s and witnessed those changing colors of his son’s eyes, signifying emotional instability. “That human… and you,” Datu Ilak said and took a hard time selecting the words that could hurt his son less, “you two are worlds apart. You must understand that.”
Listening to his father, Abanir’s melancholic face turned cloudier. His silence could resound into stream of tears, waiting to be unleashed.
The moment was harder for Datu Ilak, yet it didn’t stop him from spilling his main concern. “You have a tribe to protect, My son. This is no time for weakness. Reigning is a privilege and you have to sacrifice for it. It is given to you by hand. Do not fail it,” he stressed and looked even more serious. “Your entire tribe needs you. If you have to fight against the enemies once more, make sure it is the human that you give up. Not the battle,” he concluded, acting heartlessly, for once, and then left.
Abanir tightened his hands to the fullest. He loved his tribe more than anything else… but he loved Sophia, too. What choice was left for him to make?
CHAPTER 6
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a mother-DAughter heart-to-heart
Elizabeth knocked on Sophia’s door on Sunday night and attempted to unravel a delicate conversation with her daughter. She had been planning it for days, had been thinking of the right words to use in breaking the walls separating them, but she knew Sophia wasn’t in the attitude to talk to her. Her daughter had been quite uncontrollable lately, and with this, Elizabeth had been on-and-off in approaching her. Tonight was the best time, she thought, and felt the need to do the first move before it was too late.
“Sophia, about Jericho…” Elizabeth tried confronting, but Sophia already swayed her head, to stop the subject matter. It seemed she wasn’t set yet for any serious conversation about the recent happenings. She was in denial.
Albeit, Elizabeth continued, “Mom Lucy said the papers are now being prepared for Jericho’s release.” Then she paused when Sophia made it obvious she didn’t want to continue listening. But this didn’t stop Elizabeth from pursuing her aim. “Mom wanted you to know that she kept her promise. And she expects you to keep yours, too.” Elizabeth was attempting to meet her daughter’s eyes but it seemed she was waiting for nothing.
When Sophia’s silence extended, Elizabeth kept on, again. This time, with a challenge. “If Jericho would be out of prison, could this mean he’d be out of your life too?”
It was too much, and this pushed Sophia to hide her face even more. She was wordless, not knowing what to do next. She was back to that daunting thought again, that she might completely lose Jericho, once she’d completely adhere to the agreement. Her whole heart was breaking.
“Sophia, I need to know if you’re going to obey the agreement.” Elizabeth stirred her, making sure her eyes meet Sophia’s unsteady look.
“Mom…” Finally, Sophia returned a response, after eons. “Since when did I win a conversation with you?” A pause, and she looked at her mother unmistakably. “I followed everything you’d asked of me. When you asked me to stop befriending Daniella because she wasn’t a good influence to me, I did. When you asked me to stop being disobedient, I did. When you said you liked Giovanni because his family’s good enough, I did too.”
Elizabeth fell silent. Her daughter was, at som
e point, right.
“I know all of these because I read them all in my diaries,” Sophia broke off, shaking, seeking for composure, and gathered all her remaining strength to finish her sentence, “which means that I have always been miserable.” She cried to the last word and hid her face again with her bare hands.
As for Elizabeth, she only stared, not speaking, and trying to weigh in all the details, feeling close to tears.
“Now, tell me, Mom. Have I not been a good daughter to you?”
Silence. Elizabeth was pierced through the heart.
“What else can I do if you all hate the man I love now? What choice do I have?” Sophia groaned. “And who am I to disobey every one of you…? I love you, Mom. I love every one of you, but I also love Jericho. Please… you don’t have to make me choose because I can’t afford to lose everyone. Including Jericho.”
Elizabeth lingered to listen. She didn’t know if it was her heart or her mind that was betraying her.
“If you insist on trying to make me forget him, I will be miserable for my entire life, Mom.” Sophia now directed her eyes on her mom and ached to continue, “And that could never be changed anymore. Not anymore… Mom.”
Elizabeth shut her eyes. Waves of guilt seemed to consume her. Her daughter had never been so open and begging, like this. It was probably something that her daughter was really serious about.
Sophia was mute, after that. She felt like she had already let out one of the hardest things that had been choking her, her whole life.
For the first time, Elizabeth couldn’t defend herself nor her mother-in-law. She had always been good at defending, as a lawyer, but this case with her daughter was altogether different. Much, much different. It was asking for something more. Something else, that even by-laws couldn’t mark out.
An instant passed, and Elizabeth eventually admitted defeat. It was an open and honest discussion with her daughter. In her heart, she knew she had also made her own mistakes. But the type of mistakes that were only made with the best of good intentions, like any mother would do.
“Tomorrow’s a big day. You have to wake up early.” Elizabeth writhed to whisper and left promptly.
Like a marionette nodding, Sophia cried all at once when her mother finally closed the door. It was her against the world—for Jericho, for the man she loved. But she wasn’t giving up.
CHAPTER 7
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first day of school
On the first day of senior year, Sophia felt a total stranger. She had been in St. Thomas Academy since she was a freshman but this whole amnesia thing had swept everything away. She was back to zero. But thanks to those series of therapies and various tests, she wasn’t entirely naive.
Wearing a school uniform was now mandatory for every high- school student of St. Thomas Academy, an amendment which was protested by the students, but rules were rules now.
Watching herself in her new tie and blue-striped short skirt, Sophia talked to her brother who was driving the car for her. Since the accident, their parents were still in trauma and would not let Sophia drive on her own.
“I’m nervous,” Sophia admitted, sidetracking her brother’s attention while he was parking his BMW.
“Don’t be. Nobody’s gonna come and eat you. They’re all toothless.” A failure at being a joker, Alex laughed exclusively at his own joke.
Such embarrassment didn’t register in Sophia’s mind. She was a little bit unnerved, thinking about how she would communicate and introduce herself to people, without the need for too much explaining.
“I think we should go, so, I’ll see you at lunch.” Alex said, just as he parked the car. “But are you sure you’re gonna be okay?”
With a nod, Sophia slid out of the car and made her way to her first class. It was Spanish. Too good for her first day. She climbed up to the second floor of their age-old school building and saw Zarah at the corridor. Together, they shuffled toward their first class, only to discover a smart-looking Spanish man in his late twenties, writing on the board his very Spanish name: Fernando Garcia, Ph.D.. He was the school’s latest heartthrob, the biggest “fish” in a Catholic school full of priests, altar boys, and seminarians. Perhaps the best highlight about him was his bachelor status.
“I think he’s new here,” Zarah whispered to Sophia, with full interest, as they sat beside each other in the third row. “He’s cute… and hot. Like really hot,” she added, now giving the newcomer a quick once-over. Admiration and desire seemed to drool from Zarah’s mouth as she stared at the new teacher’s athletic torso.
“Hey, you…” Sophia grinned at her friend, and about to give the new educator the dirty look, too, when she saw Enzo entering the classroom. He belonged in the same class, but he looked finer than the last time she saw him. More serious and smarty, which was not her first impressions of him, back in Anne’s party.
Then Mr. Garcia finally spoke in Spanish, and insisted that everyone learn it without having to resort to English conversation, and that put every girl’s daydreaming to a stop. It also left every male student feeling a bit intimidated.
When lunch came, Sophia and Zarah were joined by Alexand the rest of the band. The sad thing about this reunion was… Giovanni was not there to join them, anymore.
Sophia watched the guys silently. For a profound moment, she missed Giovanni. But a part of her was also missing Jericho… and Abanir. She felt torn, in three directions, but her affection for Giovanni was still there, firmly hovering at the bottom of her heart.
Reading her diaries last night, Sophia pained so much to realize she had used Giovanni. At this, she felt so guilty. She thought she was the worst girlfriend a guy could ever have. Her heart crumpled even more the moment she remembered the words in her accounts of him, that she had always endeavored to compensate for his devoted, unconditional fervor even though she wasn’t feeling it, and that sometimes, she wished they hadn’t been lovers.
It shot her to the ground. Bleeding to the last drop. How come she could ever deserve someone wonderful like Giovanni, whose love was impossible to recompense? She couldn’t even begin to do so…
Her thoughts were shot to pieces when Rambo, the arrogant bass guitarist, saw Enzo and flung some ridicules at him. “What’s up, Enzo? I mean, Stalker!” he yelled, pretending to be coughing, and laughed heavily, making the other guys also laugh in approval.
Enzo, discovering Sophia’s presence, felt immensely embarrassed at the sudden ridicule and surprisingly, he dashed to start a fight with Rambo.
Everyone hushed as a boxing ring was about to be assembled before them. Then quickly, before the two could throw punches at each other’s faces, a couple of teachers were already rushing to stop them, and sent the two into detention.
Sophia blamed herself for what happened and silently attended her next classes with Zarah. It was clear to her now why her brother, Alex, had always had an issue with Enzo. But she doubted about some of the presumptions regarding him. She felt that Enzo was better than what everyone thought of him. She was certain there was some good in him.
Throughout the day, Sophia appeared like a ghost to Zarah. It wasn’t that easy focusing in class. Both sensory and emotional troubles were engulfing her.
“I want to go home now,” Sophia said to Zarah as they made their way to the hallway. It was right after their last period, and Alex was now dashing to join them.
“I understand.” Zarah consoled, and knew the cause of Sophia’s distress—the recent happenings.
“Sophie, do you mind if Rambo drives you home for me?” Alex asked. “I’d like to take Zarah for a date.”
“I want to take a cab.” Sophie quickly shook her head in rejection and forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. And please, enjoy your date.” She was serious with the last sentence but uncertain with the first one.
Truth was�
� there was fear in her. Going home alone after the first day of school devoid of memory frightened her.
“Are you sure?” Alex confirmed.
For a while, Sophia was in two minds, dredging up the possibilities. Then when she was solid with her decision, she nodded and hurried outside the building.
The balustrades to the main school gate were filled with numerous orchids, the country’s national flower, and the cattleya ones sent prompt vigor to her nose. She gazed at the other side and saw a mob of sophomores studying in the courtyard. It seemed they were the serious ones, while the other students played music and painted under the Mango tree, their national tree. Her school appeared to be the breeding ground for future politicians, artistic icons, and even activists. In her wondering, she didn’t know she was about to bump onto someone, who happened to be out of himself, too.
“I’m sorry!” Sophia impulsively apologized to the guy in round eyeglasses a second after the collision. It was too late, for a pile of papers were already scattered on the ground, and the guy rebuked in annoyance. Then he shut up the moment Sophia raised her head to check on him. It seemed that he recognized her.
“Sophia, hey!” His exasperation quickly turned into delight. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you coming.” He smoothed his hair and straightened his posture.
Sophia was about to pick up the papers, but she suddenly realized he had called her by name. He must have known her. Who was he? Then she paused, gawking at him. “I’m sorry… do I know you?”
The question shocked him, and he bestowed her with a puckered brow. Sophia was looking so drop-dead serious his dribble nearly choked him.
“Yeah! I’m Chuck, remember? A senior friend last school year?” he replied and began to get confused.
The Forest of Evergreen: Found in the Wilderness Page 4